494 
REMOUNT HORSES IN INDIA. 
Never leave horses in the stable a day if it can be avoided; they 
soon become troublesome and go back very quickly. Allowances 
must, of course; be made for those that are poor in condition and 
weakly. 
Having got your batch of young horses, with one or two exceptions, 
nicely through the school, say by the middle of May, able to go through 
a single ride, do their bending' lessons and stand a sword, jump in 
hand, and lead and ride on either side, put them all into harness ; after 
three days in the school in harness, take them out in the field and hook 
them in the guns for about 10 to 15 minutes daily for a fortnight, 
beginning at the off centre, and changing them to lead and wheel, 
ride and hand as required. They should be hooked in at first with a 
drag-rope attached to the off trace and a couple of men holding the 
drag-rope until they settle down ; never on any account dismount your 
drivers whilst hooking in. At the end of 15 days they should all go 
fairly steadily, the horses selected for guns and wagons may then be 
posted, though the whole batch should go back to detachment drill for 
some time. Give them 10 days of this work, mixing them up with 
the old horses, teaching them to come into action, to act as horse- 
holders horses, to lead, and to be steady with the guns. 
By the commencement of June they should all be in the ranks and 
go to regular battery drill, at least three times a week—no fast gallop¬ 
ing, but real, steady work, to teach them their paces and places in the 
field. I am a very strong advocate for 20 minutes drill at standing 
manoeuvres daily to train both men and horses, and also on short days 
and every day for young men and horses. 
It is now the middle of June, and a batch of 25 remounts that 
joined the first week in April have been out daily in guns and detach¬ 
ments for the last fortnight, though the gun horses are only hooked in 
for a short period each day. 
During the rainy season, from Jnly till the end of September, it 
may be difficult in many stations to get on the drill ground, but a 
spare corner of hard ground can generally be found near at hand, 
where a good deal of detachment and driving drill can be carried on. 
During September and the first fortnight in October, the whole of the 
battery horses should be given plenty of long and steady work, at a pace 
of from five to six miles an hour, travelling from 15 to 18 miles a day. 
If this programme be carried out, after a fortnights’ fast drill and 
manoeuvring, at the commencement of the drill season, the young 
horses should be thoroughly broken, and the battery fit to go anywhere. 
I must, however, strongly impress on every C.O. the importance of 
sparing their young horses the first year, especially gun horses, and, if 
possible, of not using the latter in the guns on long days or on field days. 
Many a good young horse, especially in the Horse Artillery, has been 
ruined by so doing; let them do lots of short days, and driving drill 
in the guns, but if they have to go out on field days put them spare, 
or in the wagons, for the wagons move over a shorter distance and at 
a steadier pace than the guns. 
Clipping. 
It is the custom in India to clip the horses all over ; this should be 
